Diamond Jewellery
Engagement Rings
Wedding Rings
Anniversary Gifts
Earrings
Necklaces
Bracelets
Bangles
Baby & Children's Gifts
Books for Gifts

Gold Jewellery
Silver Gifts for Men
Gemstone Jewellery

Learning Center:
A guide to help you make the right decision!

Diamond Grading: The 4 C's

The 4 C's, when referring to diamond value, are colour, clarity, carat weight and cut. All four factors are equally important in determining the final cost of a diamond.The criteria for diamond grading, most respected internationally, was developed by the Gemological Institute of America (the G.I.A.). The terminology and systems described on this page, are those of the G.I.A.

Following, is an explanation of these terms.

Colour

The colour of a diamond refers to the relative amount of yellow, brown or grey body color that a stone posesses. The G.I.A. scale starts at "D" and goes through "Z", with "D" being void of any body color, and "Z" having a light yellow, brown or grey color.

With actual stones, the colour difference would appear like this:

Clarity

Practically all diamonds contain naturally occurring internal characteristics called inclusions. The size, nature, location and amount of inclusions determine a stone's clarity grade and affect its cost. Clarity is dertermined using 10X magnification. By definition, if something is not visible at 10X, it does not effect the clarity.

Carat Weight

Carat is a unit of weight, not size. There are 5 carats in a gram. The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. A carat is divided into 100 parts, called points.

At the turn of the last century, it was mathamatically determined, what the optimal proportions for a diamond should be to assure maximum brilliance and dispersion. Those proportions are as follows:

The quality of a diamond's cut makes all the difference in how the stone appears. A poorly cut "D", Flawless stone, can look dead and lifeless, whereas an ideally proportioned diamond of much lower color and clarity will appear radiant and dazzling. So, why aren't all diamonds ideally proportioned? The answer is quite simple. Diamonds are sold by weight. Stones cut to ideal proportions waste more of the diamond crystal, therefore weigh less than stones that are cut to maximize weight. Here are examples:

The diamond below will weigh more because of the shallow crown, and exagerated table size. Not to mention, that another diamond of shallow proportions could be cut from the remaining crystal.

Murray Forbes Jewellers, 3 Ness Walk,, Inverness IV3 5NE, Phone (01463) 233122
E-mail:info@murrayforbes.co.uk

Members of the National Association for Goldsmiths